Translation of employment docs - Discrimination

felicia_matthews

I cannot find any case law relating to this issue and would care for some help. We have translated most of our key documents into Spanish, which is the primary language of over 30-35 percent of our staff. Of course, we have a small percentage of employees (10%) who speak other languages as their primary language (i.e, Tagalog), but we have not translated the same documents for them. Although we have not received any objections up to this point, I am concerned about possible disparate impact issues in re: to hiring, retention, training, and promotion. So far, my contact w/the state DFEH has not resulted in any real advice. And if we do translate the docs into yet another lang, where do we stop?

Gillian

From a legal perspective the closest that I can find in this area is a Fair Employment and Housing regulation that states that posters must be in any language of the employees if the language makes up 10% or more of the employee population. The citation is FEHC Regulations 7287.0(d). I don't have the Regulation so don't know if it applies to more than posters. From a practical standpoint I think that we have to evaluate the time and effort that it takes to translate vs. the benefit that we get. One of the key points is the level of English of the employee group. Employees who speak Tagalog, at least from my experience, generally have a pretty fair command of English. For that group I don't think that I would be inclined to translate but to be prepared to spend a little more explanation time if necessary. I guess I would be concerned mostly about groups of employees who speak and read little English. Another point is that some employees may not be able to read in their own language, so paper translations don't help. For them, verbal explanations is the only thing going.

Mike Maslanka

10% or 1%,translate the key documents...check with a court reporter service,they often have a list of those who translate or your local court system,which also runs into language issues...you need an absolute rule in this regard;you do not want to be on the firing line if there is a lawsuit by someone who says he or she was harassed and would have reported it if only they know or better understood...you do not want to presume the level of understanding of any employee whose native language is not english...money well spent...regards from dallas,texas,mike maslanka,michaelmaslanka@akllp.com

Margaret Morford

I would also add this to Mike's recommendation. Do not use translation software. It never translates the meaning or intent of any document.
Use someone who understands the culture and language as well as the legal concepts. The person I use for Spanish always asks where the majority of the Hispanic employees come from because the idioms vary depending on whether the employees come from Puerto Rico, Mexico, South America or Cuba.

Margaret Morford
theHRedge
615-371-8200
[email]mmorford@mleesmith.com[/email]
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